Oktoberfest celebrations begin around the county

PAM KRAGEN - pkragen@nctimes.com

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Time to iron your lederhosen.

German culture will be celebrated over the next several weeks
with a number of Oktoberfest celebrations countywide, beginning
Sunday with the Encinitas Oktoberfest and continuing Saturday with
Carlsbad's edition. Most of the festivals are free, unless
otherwise noted below. In alphabetical order, here's a schedule of
the upcoming local Bavarian celebrations, which we all know are a
great excuse to drink beer and enjoy a sausage or two.

Encinitas
---- Kicking off the season is theEncinitas Chamber of Commerce's 16th annual Oktoberfest from 10a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 26, at the intersection of El Camino Real andMountain Vista Road. The festival will feature a ceremonial parade,more than 150 vendor booths, a family fun zone, Bavarian music anddancers, a beer garden featuring Spaten beer and prize drawings.Getting things started from 7 to 9 a.m. this morning will be theLion's Club Pancake Breakfast ($6). For more, visitencinitaschamber.com.

Carlsbad
---- North County's largest event isthe 28th annual Carlsbad Rotary Oktoberfest, from noon to 10 p.m.Oct. 2 in Holiday Park at Pio Pico Drive and Pine Avenue inCarlsbad. This year's festival features music by Roger and theVillagers, the Pacific Coast Community Band and MiraCosta'sWindjammer Band, as well as German dancing, a pumpkin patch andpumpkin-decorating contest, bounce houses, face-painting and clownsfor the kids. New this year will be an all-ages grape stomp. For$10, festivalgoers can enjoy a German dinner. Free shuttle servicefrom the Sears parking lot at Westfield Plaza Camino Real mall from11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Call 760-434-6093 orwww.rotaryoktoberfest.org.

Also, the Carlsbad Senior Center will hold an Oktoberfest
luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 4 at 799 Pine Ave. in Carlsbad. A
German luncheon will be served and polka music will be played.
Luncheon reservations are required, call 760-602-4655.

Julian
---- St. Elizabeth's Catholic Churchholds its annual October Fest from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 9 and 10.The festival will feature bratwurst, beer, oompah music andtraditional German and Austrian dancing. The celebration takesplace in the parking lot of Rabobank in downtown Julian. Call760-765-1857 or visit www.julianca.com.

La Mesa
---- The 37th annual La MesaOktoberfest, running Friday through Oct. 3, is billed by organizersas the "Grand Daddy" of local Oktoberfests, with more than 200,000visitors each year and has been called the largest Oktoberfestcelebration west of the Mississippi. The festival features six cityblocks of entertainment, including 400 vendor and craft booths,five food courts, three beer gardens and a children's carnival.Festival hours are 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday andnoon to 6 p.m. Oct. 3. Festival central is a triangle-shaped areabounded by Allison Avenue, Date Avenue and La Mesa Boulevard;parking is limited, so ride the Orange Trolley line to La MesaBoulevard stop; www.lmvma.com/lmv_oktoberfest.html.

Ocean Beach
---- Ocean Beach MainstreetAssociation's annual one-day street fair, the Ocean BeachOktoberfest, features live music and dancing on two stages, all theusual German-themed entertainment, food, beer and shoppingopportunities, along with fun family events, including a sausagetoss, contests in brats-eating and beer stein-holding and the O.B.Brat Trot race and the O.B. Brew Cup beer competition, from 10 a.m.to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 9 at the west end of Newport Street. Parking islimited; free double-deck bus shuttle service will be offered fromthe 710 Beach Club at 710 Garnet Ave. in Pacific Beach. Beer gardenadmission is $3 and Brew Cup tasting tickets are $15. Visitoboktoberfest.com.

Olivenhain
---- In honor of the community'sGerman founding fathers (Olivenhain is German for "olive tree"),the long-running Oktoberfest celebration returns from noon to 4p.m. Oct. 10 at the Olivenhain Meeting Hall at 432 Rancho Santa FeRoad in Encinitas. Bratwurst and hot dogs will be grilled onsite,with all the trimmings. There will also be beers by Stone Brewingand other local breweries and live German music. About 300 to 500usually attend the free event (dinners are $12-$20).

Rancho Penasquitos
---- The Rancho Penasquitostown council holds its annual free Oktoberfest from 6 to 10 p.m.Oct. 15, featuring a German dinner, a beer garden and German musicand folk dancing at Hilltop Park on Oviedo Way in San Diego.

San Diego
---- The International Folk Dancers'San Diego chapter hosts its 54th annual Oktoberfest dance event,offering free performances and lessons for all ages in ethnicfolk-dancing including the polka, Schottische and waltz, andauthentic German food for sale from 12:30-4:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept.26, at the Balboa Park Club, 2150 Pan American Road West, SanDiego. Admission is free. Call 619-422-1584.

---- In Balboa Park, the House of Germany's annual free lawn
festival takes place from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 26,
featuring the Heimatklang Choir and dancers, a bratwurst barbecue,
ethnic arts and crafts and more in the international cottages
complex. Call 619-234-0739.

---- The community of North Park will hold its first Oktoberfest
from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Oct. 23 in the parking lot of the Birch
North Park Theatre at 2891 University Ave. The free celebration
will feature German food, beer, music and dancing.